Rude Awakening
by emikohayashi4912
Summary: When guilt of Mal's death becomes too much for him to handle, Dom Cobb attempted to ease the pain by avoiding sleep, thus avoiding the haunting dreams. Big mistake…Rated for death of a dead character and Cobb's potty mouth. Read and Review.


I don't own Inception. I wish I did, it was probably the best movie of 2010.

Got this idea after watching soldiers pranking their sleeping comrades.

Takes place before the movie, a little while after Mal dies.

Summary- When guilt of Mal's death becomes too much for him to handle, Dom Cobb attempted to ease the pain by avoiding sleep, thus avoiding the haunting dreams. Big mistake…

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After five and a half days of no sleep, Dom Cobb had become a zombie. He shuffled around mindlessly, his brain turning to mush due to stress, fatigue, and overworking. His thin goatee had thickened and his perfectly gelled hair became a tousled heap of brown and dirty blonde. Several strands of hair fell over his eyes; heavy, drooping, double-lidded eyes underlined with dark purple shadows.

Cobb longed for the sleep that he refused, but he knew that nightmares of Mal would haunt him.

But he knew that he couldn't run from sleep forever. The crew had accepted a job just the day before and, with his mind and thinking process kaput, Cobb knew that he had to rest.

With a groan, Cobb collapsed into a flimsy folding chair and closed his eyes, massaging his temples, almost forgetting how to open his eyes in the process.

Arthur looked over from his laptop.

"You don't have to push yourself like this, Cobb."

Cobb turned his head to face Arthur.

"You know what will happen if I sleep, Arthur. Besides, we have a job to do."

"And you're in no shape to do it." Arthur sighed in exasperation. "Look, Cobb, just take a break. You deserve it."

Cobb yawned and stretched. "I guess I could take…a little break…" Cobb trailed off as head lolled to the side and his eyes slid shut, sleep overpowering him.

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Eames poked and prodded the slumbering extractor with a small twig he had picked up from outside. Arthur and Nash approached them, and Arthur laughed in disbelief.

Eames stared incredulously at Arthur. "Dude, how long has he been out?"

"He conked out sometime yesterday…I'd say 17 hours ago?"

Nash whistled, impressed.

An awkward silence followed immediately.

"So," announced Eames, breaking the silence. "What do you want to do now?"

Cobb snored and adjusted his head, his mouth open.

Nash smiled and looked around at Eames and Arthur. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Arthur laughed. "You bet."

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Cobb snorted and shifted in his sleep, his lips parted. Arthur tiptoed over to the fold-up chair where Cobb sat, his hand locked around a small pixie cup that contained Tabasco sauce and small, thin pieces of ghost chili. Lifting the cup up to Cobb's face, Arthur tilted a few drops of the mixture into Cobb's open mouth.

Instantaneously, Eames grabbed the cup from Arthur and dumped the entire contents into Cobb's mouth. Almost instinctively, Cobb's lips sealed shut and he chewed and swallowed.

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"Where were you, Dom?" Mal hissed seductively, the knife in her hand hovering shakily over the hass avocado. "Why did you leave me like this?"

"I'm sorry, Mal-" I began, but Mal cut me off with an intense stare.

"It's your fault."

I stared at the ground and wiped the sweat from my forehead. Looking out the window, I saw the sun shining unnaturally bright, lighting the room up with yellow and orange.

"Come with me-"

A deep rumbling sound interrupted Mal, and the kitchen began to slightly quake. The window burst, showering the kitchen table with glass, and the kitchen became muggy with heat.

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Arthur and Nash bit their lips, trying not to laugh out loud as Cobb's brow furrowed and sweat began to form on his forehead. Eames stared at them with an amused smirk plastered on his face, the camcorder in his hand shaking ever so slightly as he silently laughed.

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My eyes flickered back and forth as the rumbling sound continued, and Mal dropped the knife, her face horrified. "What's going-"

Before she even finished her sentence, flames burst through all the doors and windows, hot sparks causing more flames and heat. A bloodcurdling shriek erupted from Mal's lips as she saw the flames, and I stared, horrified. _The warehouse is probably on fire!_

It wasn't long before the blaze had encircled us, leaving no possible way to escape the inferno. Mal screamed, her voice laced with terror, as she erupted in flames.

"Mal!" I yelled, horrified, as her flaming hand reached towards mine for help. Mal collapsed, her skin blackening and shriveling up under the flames. The scent of burnt flesh filled the air. My fingers wrapped around her limp, flaming arm, causing in my hand to explode with pain. I looked down and saw the dancing inferno creeping up my legs, which felt as heavy as lead. The pain I felt was unlike any other pain I had ever experienced, even in dreams.

_What do you do when you're on fire? Stop, drop, and roll!_

Science safety lessons from the third grade clawed at my mind, and I instinctively dropped to the floor.

The inferno consumed me, and I screamed.

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"GAAAAAAAAAH!"

Cobb's eyes snapped wide open and he leapt out of the flimsy fold-up chair that he just was sitting in, knocking it to the ground. His left hand clutched his throat while his right hand fanned his mouth. Despite the fire in his throat, Cobb managed to choke out two words.

"IT BURNS!"

Arthur, Nash, and Eames erupted with laughter as tears began to stream out of the corners of Cobb's eyes, his face contorted in pain and shining with sweat. Cobb stumbled over to the bathroom and shut the door, where he began coughing and retching.

The bathroom door flew open and Cobb stormed out, the area around his mouth wet with water and sweat, and headed towards the refrigerator, which contained a full gallon milk jug. Ripping the lid off the jug, Cobb pressed it directly to his lips and carelessly chugged the entire gallon, traces of milk sliding down the corners of his mouth.

Once the jug was completely drained, Cobb gasped and slammed the empty jug on the table and slid the back of his hand across his mouth, removing the excess milk from his face, and glared at Arthur, Eames, and Nash, who were doubled over laughing.

If looks could kill, the three would be dead and the camcorder would have exploded. Cobb gritted his teeth and clenched his fist. Each hoarse word he rasped was lacerated with acid.

"I. Fucking. Hate. You. All."

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Moral- Never sleep with your mouth open.

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Trivia-

The ghost chili holds the Guinness World Record for the world's hottest chili pepper. It's 400 times hotter than Tabasco sauce, apparently. I've seen the effects of ghost chili on Man vs. Food and on youtube.

Water does not help ease the pain. Milk does.


End file.
